Trains through Germany
 

We are trying to get from Fussen Germany to Paris via train in July. We are having a hard time due to construction causing part of the trip to be cancelled. We can get from Fussen to Munich and then take a train from there to Paris. Should we book online or wait until we get there? We will be in Munich and Fussen for around 5 days before we need to leave. Had seen were it was cheaper to buy from the station instead of online but afraid we wont be able to get a seat.

Fussen to Paris starts at €39 if you pre-book.

On the day you pay the full-flex fare, €162 - just like waiting to buy your air ticket at the airport!

So book ahead!

www.bahn.de/en

>>Had seen were it was cheaper to buy from the station instead of online<<

What you probably saw was it is cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets instead of a rail pass. Listen to main-in-seat-61 . . .

oops -- man in seat 61 . . .

Had seen were it was cheaper to buy from the station instead of online but afraid we wont be able to get a seat.>

Where did you see that?

full-fare tickets can be cheaper at the station than online depending on who you buy them from online - if you go to the source - the German railways site www.bahn.de/en then it would be the same as at the station or perhaps a euro or two cheaper for booking online (not in Germany maybe but some countries who do not want folks to go clog up ticket windows) - but if you book full-fare tickets at say www.raileurope.com they could be more expensive than the same ticket at the station in Germany.

So yes Man in Seat 61 who posts above his commercial site www.seat61.com is tops at buying discounted tickets or giving info on them thru www.bahn.de/en - you can see the range of fares he gives examples of of.

Discounted tickets are train-specific and cannot be changed - they do not include in Germany a seat reservation so book that too on bahn.de for a few euros but they are optional inside of Germany I think but required in France so book one.

Fussen to where you change to the faster trains to Paris are regional trains that do not even make seat reservations I think - so with the 39 euro ticket Man in Seat 61 found that would be valid on any regional train Fussen to where you change to ICE or faster trains.

1st class tickets are also discounted and at times may not be much more than 2nd class - if not go for first class - more relaxed - easier to stow luggage and Man in Seat 61 once on Fodor's said he 'was an aficionado himself on first class - check his site for the differences between classes - other sites with good general info on trains are www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Even WITH that seat reservation get to the station early so you can locate the appropriate platform and look for the charts which tell you where your car number will be stopping on that platform.

In Munich it should not be much of a problem because the train to Paris will leave from a so-called "stub end" platform which means the tracks stop at the head of that platform.

Luggage may or may not be "easier" to stow in First because that depends on how full First turns out to be and how much luggage everybody is hauling aboard.

You'll be happier if you, and your luggage, are some of the first people to board, believe me.

In Munich it should not be much of a problem because the train to Paris will leave from a so-called "stub end" platform which means the tracks stop at the head of that platform.>

Good info but there are no direct trains from Munich to Paris- all involve changing trains to the Paris train in Stuttgart or Mannheim usually - sometimes more than one change is needed. some technical reason I think.

and about arriving at the station early for the reserved seat - your journey commences in Fussen to Munich and there are no reserved seats on that train - Munich to Stuttgart or Mannheim and onto Paris there are.

>Good info but there are no direct trains from Munich to Paris- all involve changing trains to the Paris train in Stuttgart or Mannheim usually <

Well, there is just one direct TGV, leaving Munich 6:24 am. All other involve at least (!) one change.

One of the biggest issues we are having is construction making it impossible to book from Fussen to Paris. We can book a trip to Munich and then one from there to Paris. Train times are really close though. We want to get into Paris before dark. Thanks for everyone's help.

Well, there is just one direct TGV, leaving Munich 6:24 am. All other involve at least (!) one change.>

Oops I did not check that early because they were coming from Fussen.

weird that all bahn.de schedules seem to have Fussen-Munich-Paris rather than say Fussen-Augsburg-Stuttgart-Paris -must be quicker going via Munich obviously but seems weird.

Ok, sorry for the misunderstandig. After checking the time tables see your problem: due to the reconstruciton of the Füssen - Kaufbeuren line the first 20 km past Füssen are closed at your travel time (see the remarks in the time table).

You can, however, take a bus to reach the nearby Pfronten - Kempten line:

Füssen Bahnhof dep. 9:05 Bus 56 destination Steinach-Pfronten (except Sundays)
Pfronten-Weißbach arr. 9:29
dep. 9:40 RB 5474
Kempten arr. 10:28
dep. 10:55 IC 2012
Stuttgart arr. 13:05
dep. 14:49 ICE 9572
Paris Est arr. 18:33

Discounted ticket are 69 E. each (the bus might be in addition, just a few euros).

You can replicate this itinerary at www.bahn.com by searching Füssen-Paris dep. 9:00 AND forcing a stopover at Pfronten-Weißbach (duration 00:05).

You can, however, wirte to the tourist information in Füssen, if there will be a substitute bus: http://www.fuessen.de/en/service/contact-form.html

Addendum: if you want to avoid the bus, take a taxi for a short ride (appr. 5 km) to the station »Ullrichsbrücke-Füssen« just over the border in Austria, where the above mentioned RB 5474 (originating from Reutte in Tirol) to Kempten will depart at 9:16.

In that case, buy your ticket online from the first station in Germany, "Pfronten-Steinach" and pay for the 5 km or so in Austria in addition.

I've taken the bus thru the gap in the hills made by the roaring river that runs thru Fussen to Reutte's train station - the bus stops right at the station - no problem- this is a German train ride going thru a bit of Austria I think (Bavaria Passes valid I was told because of that).

I thought there must be a way to go between Fussen and France besides going back to Munich as most of my checks on www.bahn.de/en indicated.

Still, it it easier to take the bus to Pfronten-Weissbach suggested above than taking the bus to Reutte. The Reutte bus leaves 1 hour earlier (8am), just to connect to the same RB 5474 to Kempten. And while it is true that the Bayern Ticket is valid on the Ausserfernbahn even for the Austrian part, buying one for the short leg to Kempten is pointlesse: after Kempten, if the OP follows the itinerary suggested above, he will switch to an IC (Bayern Ticket not valid) and the price for the discounted IC / ICE ticket Kempten - Paris Est will cover the Pfronten - Kempten leg too.

There seems to be no problem to get from Munich to Fuseen so we already had booked a place for 2 days in Fussen. The plan is now to take the train back to Munich and then catch the train to Paris. I was able to get tickets leaving around 12 to Paris for about $80 with my daughter being free. The trip from Munich is about 6 hours. We just plan to leave Fussen earlier in the morning to get to Munich.

Did you get reserved seats for the Munich to Stuttgart train and connecting train from there to Paris?

Curious - how much extra were they if you did - did they charge you for 4 seat reservations or just 2?

If not having reservations I'd get to the train which probably starts in Munich early and find unreserved seats - you could always make those reservations in Fussen or at any German train station too.

>Curious - how much extra were they if you did - did they charge you for 4 seat reservations or just 2?<

The reservation fee covers one transfer. Mal chance if you switch to a 3d train...

It was around $80 each with my daughter being free. You could reserve a seat from Munich to Stuttgart but not from there to Paris.

It was around $80 each with my daughter being free. You could reserve a seat from Munich to Stuttgart but not from there to Paris.>

check you ticket as the French portion I believe makes reservations obligatory and IMU they automatically come with the ticket.

Stuttgart Hbf dep 08:50 TGV 9576 TGV Direction: Paris Est
Subject to compulsory reservation (Karlsruhe Hbf --> Paris Est), Paris Est arr 12:35

I guess after Karlsrhue reservations are compulsory- again check your ticket.

>check you ticket as the French portion I believe makes reservations obligatory and IMU they automatically come with the ticket.<

That's correct. Reservation is included in the price of the TGV (or ICE) ticket beyond the french border and therefore you cannot make a separate reservation.